The BBC reports that four members of the hacktivist group LulzSec based in the United Kingdom have been sentenced this week. They are Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis, Mustafa al-Bassam and Ryan Ackroyd. All four pled guilty to various charges either last year or earlier this year. The four were sentenced for their part in high profile cyber-attacks in 2011 that targeted websites for Sony Pictures, Electronic Arts, News International, the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency, gaming web site The Escapist, and CCP's popular MMO EVE-Online.

Ryan Cleary was sentenced to 32 months in prison, Jake Davis was sentenced to two years in prison, and Ryan Ackroyd was given a sentence of 30 months in prison. Mustafa al-Bassam, the youngest member of the group, was given a 20-month suspended sentence.

Andrew Hadik, a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service described the actions of the group as "cowardly and vindictive," and said that these sentences should serve as "a warning to other cybercriminals that they are not invincible."

The four men could still be extradited to the United States to face separate charges for the security breaches they engaged in in 2011.